The European Commission (EC) has accused private equity firm KKR of providing incorrect or misleading information during its €22 billion ($24.7bn) acquisition of Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network in 2024.

It comes after the EC released its initial findings earlier this week after launching a probe into the claims that KKR had provided incorrect or misleading information ahead of the deal being approved.

The EC, which actually cleared the deal, launched its investigation into those claims following complaints by various third-party operators.

This led the Commission to open a formal investigation to assess whether KKR had supplied incorrect and/or misleading information during the Commission's investigation of KKR's acquisition of NetCo. KKR denied it at the time.

It comes as third-party operators said that following the deal, FiberCop unilaterally increased the price they paid under the existing long-term agreements to access FiberCop's fixed broadband network.

FiberCop was set up in 2021 by TIM, KKR, and Fastweb, as a way to manage TIM's ‘last mile’ fiber network. The company was formerly known as NetCo prior to being acquired from Telecom Italia (TIM) by a KKR-led consortium. The company provides wholesale fixed access services on both its copper and fiber networks in Italy.

This means that other telecom operators are able to use FibreCop's fiber network as part of a wholesale service to provide Internet services to their customers.

Issuing a Statement of Objections, the EC said it has taken the preliminary view that KKR, "at least negligently, submitted incorrect and/or misleading information on the terms of its existing long-term agreements for wholesale access, including on the fact that their existing terms would continue to apply since they could only be changed by mutual agreement with the third-party operators."

"Effective merger control depends on companies providing the Commission with correct information. KKR appears to have provided incorrect or misleading information about whether it would keep its existing long-term access agreements under the same terms unless mutually agreed otherwise with the third-party operators," said Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, European Commission.

"Our evidence suggests that, after the merger, KKR may have raised prices for existing wholesale broadband customers, in some cases significantly. The Commission relied on that information when approving its acquisition of NetCo in 2024. KKR now has the opportunity to respond."

In response to the initial findings, KKR said it disagrees with the European Commission's view.

"We stand by the accuracy of ‌the ⁠information provided during the Commission's 2024 review of the NetCo acquisition," said a spokesperson for KKR. "We will vigorously challenge these preliminary allegations in our response to the Statement of Objections, while continuing to engage constructively with the Commission."